by Blue Saffire
“Thank you,” I say and give her a smile.
I make my way to the bathroom, debating calling Kevin. I know he’s pissed. I chew on my lip, staring at my phone.
When I go to hit the call button, movement out the corner of my eye catches my attention. I look up to see a guy with a TSA uniform on, not the airport’s usual maintenance and service crew uniform, and a black mask over his face, standing in the restroom with me. It’s pretty early and the airport hasn’t starting buzzing with a lot of traffic yet, so there’s no one in the bathroom but us as far as I can tell.
No matter. I slip my phone in my pocket and take my bag off my shoulder to grasp it in my hand as a weapon. I’m not going down without a fight. He has height and weight on me, but I’m not going to make this easy.
“I don’t know who you are, but you walked into the wrong bathroom today.”
He snorts and charges me. I swing my bag at his head. The e-reader and all my snacks add enough weight to pack a punch, and it does.
His head snaps to the side and he stumbles. I give a vicious grin and dance back away from him. “Ow, that’s going to leave a mark,” I taunt.
“Bitch,” he snarls as he covers his face and spits out blood.
“Oh, your mother didn’t teach you any manners. Let me help you with that.”
I jump up and toss a kick, catching him right under the chin. His head jerks back and he loses his footing. Seeing that the strap on my bag has broken, I drop it and ball my fist.
He gets to his feet and rushes me, causing me to move quickly to dodge him, switching positions with him. I go on full attack. Throwing a three-punch combination, I end it with an upper cut.
Not giving him time to recover, I lunge at him and grasp the back of his head. Pivoting slightly, I use my momentum to turn and slam his head down on the countertop. He flails an arm to his side to reach for me as he cries out in pain.
“Who’s the bitch now, asshole?”
He turns to me slowly, seeming to shake off his daze. Despite the mask, I note the smile that comes to his face. I know then and there, I’ve made a mistake. I turn my gaze to the mirror, he was only a diversion. As the realization hits, strong arms wrap around my shoulders, and something pricks me in the neck.
I struggle against the hold even as my vision turns blurry and I start to fade. I’m fighting, but I don’t think my limbs are moving anymore. It’s a battle I’m having in my head.
At least, it is until it all goes black.
* * *
Kevin
“Tell me everything ya know,” Quinn says gruffly.
I’m pacing the living room as he walks into my home. My head hurts from tugging at my hair. Still no word from Dem.
“Her flight to Miami should have landed in Puerto Rico by now. Last I checked, the delay wasn’t long enough to prevent the connection flight. Her brothers should have been on the plane with her, and they should have made it to their final destination,” I reply.
Quinn nods and takes his phone out. I watch as he frowns down at the device. He lifts his green eyes to mine.
“Do you know an Emilio Mercado?”
“That’s one of Dem’s brothers. The oldest one, I think,” I reply.
He turns his attention back to his phone at the same time the doorbell rings. My brows wrinkle. I only called Quinn; I’m not expecting anyone else.
I rush to the front door. Maybe Dem decided to come back. When I open the door, Detective Reed is standing on the other side. Her face is panicked, and she has blood on the front of her shirt.
“You have to help me. I didn’t know where else to take him,” she says in a rush.
“Take who?”
“Harris. He was beaten so badly when I found him. He’s breathing so shallow now. Please, you have to help me.”
Tears start to fall from her eyes. I’m confused as fuck as to why she’d bring him here of all places. However, Quinn and I follow her out to her car. Sure enough, Harris is in the back seat of her vehicle, looking like someone tried to beat the life out of him.
“What the fuck?” I say as I open the door and check his vitals.
“I know you guys know people. He needs a doc.”
“Why didn’t you take him to a hospital?” Quinn asks.
Reed runs a hand through her hair. She looks around nervously. It only takes a second before she makes a decision.
“If I take him to a hospital, they’ll make sure he dies. They won’t help him. The Knights of Justice will finish him. He’s a traitor to them now,” she says.
I rock back on my heels. “What exactly are you saying?”
“We should get him inside. I promise to tell you everything you need to know if you get him inside and help us.”
“Maureen,” Harris groans.
“I have to do this, Orin. Enough is enough. They’ll probably come after me next anyway,” Reed says, her eyes wide and fearful.
“Ach, let’s get him inside. I want to hear what the lass has to say,” Quinn says, reaching to pull Harris out of the car.
We work together to get Harris into the house. He’s no help at all. From a once-over, I’d say his arm is broken and maybe even a leg.
We get him onto my couch, and Quinn puts in the call to get him some help. I may not like Orin, but this is hard to see. The entire left side of his face is nearly black and blue. His lip is busted, and his right eye is sealed shut.
He licks his chapped lips. “You have to get to Danita. She’s not safe,” he pushes out hoarsely.
From his labored speech and the way he’s cradling his side with his good arm, I believe he may have a broken rib or two. However, I can’t focus much on anything else once Dem’s name leaves his mouth. I ball my fists and glare at Reed.
“Ya said ya can explain. Ya best get to talking.”
“Orin figured out she was the FBI agent sent after he blew the whistle on the ring. The Knights of Justice serve no justice. They take and they ruin great cops. They bully us into doing what they want, even if we don’t want any part of it.
“Orin was tired of it. He thought moving up the ranks would get him in close enough to bring them down. He made a call to the FBI. It took some time, but he figured out that Detective Moralez was the one. He’s been trying to protect her since—”
“You’re shitting me, right?” I scoff.
“Orin isn’t the dick everyone thinks he is. It’s an act for the most part. He knew no one would suspect him as the whistleblower if he maintained his role in the ring, and the bigger ass he was to Moralez, the less anyone would suspect.
“They wanted to recruit her, but he put a stop to it. We couldn’t figure out what changed, why she hadn’t shut them down. Not until after Cal was shot and she started seeing you…then Orin stumbled onto something.
“There’s this guy. We’ve been answering to him for years. Suddenly, he’s gone and this new dude shows up. He had Orin doing some crazy shit, like he wanted him to prove his loyalty. Then, we found out they were trying to frame Orin for the entire ring,” she explains.
“Well, what happened to him?” I ask, nodding at Harris.
“Today, I went to his place because I hadn’t heard from him and he didn’t answer any of my texts.” She covers her mouth as a sob escapes. “I found him in his garage, beaten like this. Those bastards meant to kill him. I’ll name every single one of them. Moralez can have anything she needs,” she says heatedly.
“The doc is on the way. You hang in there, Harris,” Quinn says.
Harris groans, letting us know he’s still breathing. I think back to how Harris was always up Dem’s ass. I glare at Reed to see if she’s telling the truth.
“Listen, I know what you’re thinking. Orin gave Moralez a lot of shit, but it was an act. He was trying to get close to her to keep an eye on her. We’ve been dating secretly
for the last three years. They hate for recruiters to sleep with the recruits,” Reed explains.
“Which makes ya the recruit?” Quinn asks.
“Yes. Orin has been a recruiter for a long time. It’s a long story; he can tell you better than I can. He shuts down about it,” she says.
I go to ask another question that’s been rolling through my head, but the doorbell rings again. I look at Quinn, then at Reed and Harris. These two may have brought this shit to my door.
With a grunt, I turn to get my gun before I head to answer my front door. When I look out of the glass panel, I find three very angry-looking versions of Dem. Tucking my gun in the back of my waistband, I open the door.
“You Kevin Blackhart?” the tallest one says. If I remember right, he’s Jo-jo.
“Aye, that would be me.”
The one I remember to be Diego from the conversation in the lobby of the hotel snorts as he travels his eyes over me appraisingly, then looks at the flag hanging on my porch. “Only Dem. Some Irish cat. Is she serious?”
“Right now, he could be a purple panther from Mars, and I wouldn’t give a fuck. All I want to know is have you seen our sister? Is she here, bro?”
My heart sinks to my feet. Just as I feared, she’s missing. I knew it in my bones.
“I haven’t seen her since I dropped her off at the airport. I thought she would be in Puerto Rico by now.”
“I’ve called Shane and Trent. Now it all makes sense. I didn’t see this file ya sent me until now. Kevin, you’re not going to believe this,” Quinn says from behind me.
“Just tell me you know how to find her.”
“No, but we will.”
Chapter 39
Running Out of Time
Danita
I look around me as my heart pounds. Electric wires are woven above my head like a ceiling that sparks in an evil threat as the rising water beneath me slowly soaks through the bottom of my jeans. It hasn’t risen high enough for me to fear yet, but I face another evil as I sit in this darkened space.
I move away from the wall I’ve been propped against. The hissing of the live wires causes me to jump. My breathing increases as I take in the small vault-like space and the restraints that keep me from moving too far, not that there’s much space for me to.
My wrists and ankles are chained. There’s about twelve feet between me and the wired ceiling. Taking another look around, my eyes begin to adjust to the dim lighting. I turn left and come face-to-face with a glass panel. Almost like a long picture window. There’s a chair on the other side as if someone plans to sit and watch me in here.
“Hello,” I call out. “Somebody.”
I’m greeted by nothing but the hollow echo of my own voice. Sweat beads down the side of my temple. I don’t know how long I’ve been in here.
Suddenly, as if my thoughts are heard, the sound of a clock ticking fills the air. I squint my eyes to look through the glass. There’s a clock on the wall outside with red numbers ticking down as if to taunt me.
Pushing through the fog in my brain, I try my best to remember how I got here. Nothing comes to me. All I can remember is the fight I had with Kevin.
Kevin.
My heart aches and tears burn my eyes and nostrils. That can’t be the last time I ever get to speak to him. I said things I didn’t mean. I understand his frustration. I can’t blame him. I know the part I play in it.
He wants to get married and have a family. No matter how hard I fight him on it all, I want that too. However, it’s not that easy.
His questions weren’t unreasonable, even if his timing sucked. I was wrong. I know I was. I knew how much he wanted to make the trip with me, but I couldn’t do it. Now, I don’t think I’ll ever get to tell him I was wrong.
The irony is I’m finally getting my life back. No…I have more than my old life. I’ve found something I never thought was for me. I thought I was the one that would destroy it all with the walls I started to build, but someone else is out to take it from me.
Who?
“Hello. Anyone out there?”
The wires stop hissing as if someone has shut them off. My teeth start to chatter as the chill in the tight space permeates through me. I close my eyes and tighten my fists at my sides. Fury builds inside me as I tug at the chains. More than five years undercover. I lost my entire identity, but I survived.
I’m not giving up now. This can’t be the end. I have unfinished business outside of these walls.
“Kevin, if I ever needed you to find me, it’s now,” I whisper. “Keep your promise.”
Kevin’s words play in my head. Think back to the beginning. Back to us.
Suddenly, memories flood my brain, it all starts to come back to me. Emil’s call, baggage claim, going to the bathroom, and that guy. I should have torn his mask off.
I have to stay calm, not an easy task as the water seems to be rising more rapidly in this tiny space. I try to stand to gauge how deep the water is. Sitting isn’t going to help as the water is now at my waist in a seated position.
As I thought, it’s at my lower calf. Spinning in a circle, I search for an exit or something to help me break through the glass. Of course, I find nothing.
Nevertheless, I walk up to the glass and start to pound on it. It’s thick. The sound of the chains clinking against it confirm what my eyes and hands can tell. Not that I expected anything less.
As if to taunt me, the water seems to slow once again. I start to wonder if it’s on a timer or if I’m being watched and the watcher is controlling both the flow of water and the wires above my head. As that thought enters my mind, I start to look around for signs of cameras.
I find nothing. Right when I go to turn to feel across the walls for a hidden exit, a figure appears from out of the shadows. Pressing closer to the glass, I squint my eyes. I want to see the face of the bastard I plan to destroy when I find my way out of here.
“Who are you?” I snarl and bang on the glass when they stop right outside of my sight.
The lights come on in the other room, blinding me for a moment. I blink, waiting for my eyes to adjust. When they finally do, I take a step back.
My mouth runs dry, and the small room seems to get smaller. My brain is twisted and confused, tripping over itself for a logical answer. If I can be seen through this glass, I’m sure the shock and surprise are written all over my face.
“Hello, Demaris,” he snorts. “Or should I say Detective Moralez? Being as I made sure Demaris Mercado will never see the light of day again.”
“Eric?” I breathe when my brain snaps back into action. “What the fuck is this bullshit about? Let me out of here.”
He tips his head to the side, looking like a deranged lunatic. “You know, this is how it’s always been. Me looking in on you.” He drops his gaze to my heaving breasts. “Wanting, desiring, but you don’t see me until extreme measures are taken.
“Hell. You didn’t give a single thought to my warnings. Or was it that you couldn’t care less? No, no, I know exactly what it was. You didn’t see it was me. You thought it was that idiot snitch that was chasing behind you like a puppy,” he grits out.
The aggression rolling off him is strong. It takes me a few seconds to follow him. When it clicks, ice runs through my veins.
“The notes were you?”
“Ding dong, sweetheart. You know, I had such high hopes for you. That is before you became a whore. Dangle a little dick in your face, and you become a complete nitwit.”
“Fuck you, Eric.”
He licks his lips. “I wish. It was the plan until you started letting that live Ken doll put his hands all over what’s mine. Do you know I was still going to let you live? I love you that much, baby.
“I was going to walk away and leave you to think about your actions while stuck in a life I knew you didn’t want. That was
going to be your punishment, but no, you and that rent-a-cop started getting too close,” he seethes.
“Rent-a-cop?”
“That idiot Kelley. He turned out to be a real problem. The boss wanted him dead, but I had covered you. Always doing my part. I’ve been covering your ass for five years, and this is how you repay me. So disloyal.
“I should’ve killed Blackhart when he first entered the picture. I had planned to, but someone in the Bureau stumbled across our trail. I had to make us disappear. I went through so much work so we could be together. You couldn’t wait for me though, could you?”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“I’ve been in love with you from day one. You smiled at me your first day in the elevator and I knew. You were the one. Smart, gorgeous, so damn talented. I risked it all. Everything I did was for you. Everything,” he bellows.
He pushes his hands in his hair and starts to pace. I’ve never seen him like this. Eric has always been sweet to me. Mostly mild-mannered. Although, now that I think of it, he was kind of high strung when he moved me to the new apartment right before he disappeared.
This time, I tilt my head as I peer at him through the glass. He seems to have bulked up since I last saw him. He isn’t wearing his glasses either.
Stress lines his face, and he looks like he hasn’t been sleeping much on top of the crazed look in his eyes. It’s clear the hinges have come loose. This isn’t the Eric I knew. Which leads me to wonder, did I know him at all?
That clock is still ticking on the wall. The water is steadily rising around me. I try to think fast to get myself out of this.
“What exactly do you mean by everything?”
He turns and narrows his eyes on me. “Do you know how long I waited to find a case I could get you on? A case that I could use to get closer to you. Then the call came in trying to topple over the Knights. I was going to squash it like all the others, but it got past me, and they mentioned sending you in.”
He licks his bottom lip as he snarls. “That bitch almost ruined everything. Always in your fucking business, blocking your assignments to keep you safe.” He makes air quotes. “She called herself, looking out for you. Whore just wanted your brother’s attention if you ask me.”